Create a 7 page essay paper that discusses Positive mood facilitates insight problem solving.The paper describes the various hypotheses and explains how a positive mood may enhance solving insight pro

Create a 7 page essay paper that discusses Positive mood facilitates insight problem solving.

The paper describes the various hypotheses and explains how a positive mood may enhance solving insight problems through looking at cognitive functions. One line of research suggests that emotions are used to determine the value of accessible information and influence the “level of focus”. According to this view, positive emotions promote greater reliance on accessible information such as heuristic processing strategies rather than systematic processing strategies, and global rather than the local features of visual information.

Another line of research suggests that positivity leads to greater flexibility in cognitive processing, as evidenced in the creative problem solving method of the Duncker Candle Problem, a greater ability to switch perspectives and find viable solutions in negotiations, and an increased ability to enact intentions against strong habitual tendencies. According to the flexibility hypothesis, positivity does not necessarily promote accessible or global processing, but rather facilitates open, flexible, and efficient processing.

The flexibility hypothesis can be derived from the Personality Systems Interaction (PSI) theory. According to this theory, moderate levels of positivity increase the activation of a central executive system called extension memory, whereas strong negativity reduces access to this system. Extension memory is thought of as an implicit representational system that is necessary in order to have an overview of relevant episodic experiences and integrated self-representations.